Natchez — Wrapped tightly in bubble wrap and blankets, Stanton Hall received a very special delivery Thursday morning in the form of five pieces of furniture that are original to the historic house.

Varina Buntin, a descendent of the Stanton family, donated a settee with three matching chairs and a fourth chair that were all part of Frederick Stanton’s, the house’s original owner, collection of furniture.

Buntin said that while she has never lived in Natchez, she knew the furniture — when it was no long being used by her family — belonged back in Stanton Hall.

“My mother made it very clear that this furniture would go to me,” Buntin said. “But she also said that if there came a time when we were not using it or no one else in the family wanted it, she wanted it to come here to Stanton Hall. I think she is smiling today.”

So after several years in storage — “It was too fragile for everyday life with three children,” Buntin said — Buntin decided it was time for the 1840s furniture to return to its original home. All five pieces are French rosewood with intricate carved details in the wood.

Buntin also brought some original receipts that describe purchases and business transactions done by Frederick Stanton. They show the purchasing of a pew for the Presbyterian church, cotton and pieces of jewelry.

“I’m amazed that they have not deteriorated. They have been stored in attics and are still intact,” Buntin said. “They really help in learning about what daily life was like here.”

Buntin said when she started the process of returning the furniture to the house, she didn’t know exactly how to go about it. But after a phone call to Stanton Hall, Buntin was given Ethel Banta as the contact and from there the process has been smooth.

“I called Stanton Hall and explained who I was and I think I asked who was in charge of acquisitions,” she said. “I didn’t exactly know who I needed to talk to.”

That was in February, and over the last few months Banta and Buntin have worked out all the details that made Thursday’s donation possible. And once the furniture left the U-Haul and was placed in the front parlor of the house’s double parlors, Buntin said the furniture was finally home.

“I grew up listening to the stories from my mother and grandmother and aunt about Natchez, because they all remembered it and the people, and I always felt as if I knew people here, too,” she said. “Being from the South, there is so much emphasis put on a sense of place and here in Natchez, because of the stories of my family, I have that sense of place. And it is wonderful to be able to return this furniture to this place that was so important to my family.”

Banta, chairman of the Stanton Hall Governing Board, said having pieces that are original to the house is important in portraying the way of life when the Stanton’s lived in the house.

“This is what a museum house is all about,” Banta said. “It is supposed to look like it did the family lived there.”